Freya in The Garden of Soul (Ep 14)- Photo & Text by Irina Gache

Freya in the Garden of Soul is an episode-based surrealist novel that I decided to publish online as I go along with the writing process. It focuses on the journey of a character named Freya in the realms of the unconscious where she meets and interacts with different phantasmagorical characters that challenge her sense of self through different riddles and sayings that may be perceived as subtitle advice from inner guides.

Full of metaphors, parables, and leads, Freya aims to lead the reader on a journey of inner discovery that anyone can relate to if immersed in the story with an open mind. She will question herself, what she sees, feels and thinks and the world in the labyrinth she found herself into, provoking everyone that enters with her to do that as well.

Freya finds herself walking slowly in a swap with her feet deep in the mud, making her walk feel more like a struggle. She holds in her right hand a golden blade with a handle made of a moving living serpent. In her left hand, she holds a lamp with a light so powerful that around her it’s as bright as it was daytime, though it was one of the darkest nights. Her path is lit, everything around her is seen because of the light she holds steady. She is barefoot and her hair is braided in tails falling on her shoulders in a reddish flaming color.

As she continues to walk, hands try to grab her feet from inside the mud, but she continues to walk ignoring the hands. A stronger hand clenches her right foot and another tries to steal her lamp. She hears a voice: “Don’t go! We want you here with us! This is where you belong!” Freya turns around and with one move she cuts the hand that grabbed her using her golden sword. “I don’t belong here and no one will ever stand in my way or take away my light. I am no longer staying here.” Screams of despair echo through the night as Freya cuts more hands that try to grab her in an attempt to keep her in the swamp. She makes her way out of the mud and steps on the grass. She looks behind and sees a scene full of appearances of past ghosts, a hell she once was part of. As she leaves it behind, her lamp brightens even more, soon turning the whole night into day. She takes a look at the lamp and sees she is now holding the sun in her hand. She smiles and takes a deep breath. The air floods her entire being.

Freya finds a tree with strange fruits hanging on its branches. She steps closer to it and reaches for the fruits. To her surprise, the fruits were made of little boxes. As she looks at the strange objects she hears a hissing sound so familiar to her. She looks down and sees the serpent curling up the tree. “Freya, my dear, you’re in the right place. Take the fruit, my dear, for it has knowledge that you will need on your journey.” says the snake.

Freya takes a box from the tree and opens it. Inside she finds a glowing potion and a note that read: “For you, the gift of words from inside will echo from your heart to others. You are your warrior and your protector, for you will now drink liquid taken from the Cup of Life.”

Freya looks at the snake smiling and reaches her hand inviting him to accompany her on the journey. The serpent curls to her hand meeting the other serpent from the handle of her sword, making a Caduceus on it. She opens the bottle and drinks the potion from the box she just opened. Strong rays of light come sparkling from her skin. She feels a union inside she never felt this intense. “I now know what I am supposed to do!” says Freya happily as she continues her walk through the sunny meadow, leaving the tree behind.

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About the author: Irina Gache is a visual artist and writer from Bucharest, Romania. You can find more about her by checking her portfolio or by following her on Facebook. Stay tuned for her next episodes.

Irina Gache is a visual artist and writer from Bucharest, Romania. Her main preoccupation is photography but she also loves to give life to images through other media like paintings and collages. When she writes she does it in a surrealist way and allures the reader into the text by making it very visual and with riddle-like challenges. "I like my text to move like a motion picture in the reader's mind where he/she can project himself/herself into. When I write I see a whole movie being created".

Issue no. 4 –– Dreams & Nightmares

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